Yep. it was cut to short. I did that on purpose, sort of. Since I don't have a mill, it is easier to add sheet styrene to get the dimensions close. Then I can file down the styrene as needed to get it spot-on. Or at lease close enough to pass the 3' rule.
Progress update I shot the first primer coat this evening: Then trimmed the styrene down and did a little sanding on the fuel tank:
Progress update (cont) So, here is the results so far: You can see by the following detail shot of the fuel tank, that it is now pretty much the right size: The next thing I'll be doing is to lightly coat the fuel tank with Squadron putty then sand to a smooth finish. This should take out any imperfections in Athearn's molding. After that, I'll be shooting the contrasting primer. The contrasting primer should produce subtle shading differences when the orange is applied. (that is if I do it right!) I'm having a lot of fun with this build! Thanks for reading and commenting. I really appreciate it!
Yeah, I have to install the lift rings when I'm in a better mood. It's been a sucky day. So I did something that would relax me rather than frustrate me. :tb-hissyfit:
Looks good...some diesel soot down the top and it could pass for an SP model already done LOL. I've been viewing a bunch of SP photo's and am amazed at how dirty some of the loco's are....
Hey RK, If you are going to model a specific SP era, pay very close attention to the photo dates of the prototypes you are looking at. Back in the day, SP took pretty good care of their equipment. It was only in later days that the SP units took on a rather uncared for appearance. The prototype photo I'm working off of for this model is dated 1978, which is perfect for my modeling era. It is a very unusual prototype to model as it is missing some of the common markings that most units had during this time frame. I like that it is a-typical. My model of the 8 is a-typical as well, since the number is in front of the dynamic grill instead of behind it. Just something to think about as you plan to rock the modeling world with your SP units.
I am modeling the last days of SP, such that I have several tunnel motors and geeps that will be well weathered, and a trio of -9's that will be left fairly new looking. I'm planning to model a section of the moffat route on the new layout(some D&RGW will be tossed in here and there as well), the existing one is mostly an un-scenic'd modular thats in a spare room+part of the garage as our house is up for sale. I've pulled down the section in the spare room..but am debating to either tear down the rest or put it back together betting that it won't sell..... The plan is to either have a 2 story pole building put up at the next place or bring in a free mobile home and gut the inside so the layout has some real space. Currently I'm just building and detailing loco's and rolling stock as I have time. Enough of those dreams and rant....don't want to jack your thread here Milwaukee ran our area when I was a kid, some interesting trains ran on some downright scary track. I remember my mother backing up away from a crossing as the train came because a couple of open hoppers were rocking so violently...
I can do some pics of my loco's in a new thread of course I'm not getting excited about the new layout till we got some house sale action going on, if ever. We are well priced and have lots of interest but banks are just holding onto their cash I won't thread jack anymore I promise.
I shot the contrasting color and the orange last night. I didn't make a good color choice for the contrasting color. It gave a very cool effect, which I'll use in the future where applicable. I also had some airbrush issues. So, overall I'm not very happy with the results. All is not lost, however, as I think I can build upon this and still end up with a rather realistic build. I'll post some photos for anyone interested this weekend. There is definitely a learning curve.
Bob Awesome modeling, I love the small tank, looks just like the ones in the video heading up to Lewistown.
Bob- Dean is referring to the Pentrex set. There is a chase of the train heading north to Lewistown, with brand new GP38-2 units leading. BTW- A quick note here- Narration says it's Train 401. However, the new units came in Spring of 1973, thus it's Train 163. Boxcab E50
Cool, thanks for the info Ken! Ok guys. Time for a little cratique, advice, and direction if you would be so kind. Working the orange fade and a bit of the grime along the walkways. The grime carried to high up the car body. I need to get a smaller dry brush to keep this from happening again. Sorry for the lighting, but it is dark outside and will be snowing all weekend. I'll be able to get cloud cover filtered lighting on it tomorrow if y'all think it will be better. So in this first photo is the pastels applied to the model before sealing with Dull Coat. The following photo is after applying the Dull Coat. So... I'm thinking I may need to add more pastels for the more pronounced fade on the orange. The Dull Coat appears to just about neutralized the white pastels. I also started the sanding process on the fuel tank: I appreciate your critique and advice. Thanks for looking. Build Album
Dullcoat certainly did change how the chalk effects appeared. BTW- I keep looking at the totle of this topic: "Milwaukee Road 255 GP38-2 PROJECT" and thinking I should make a small edit.... Boxcab E50
